MINDSET AND HEALTHY LIFESTYLE CHANGE

Most people have goals and dreams; and if you are one of those who has never had a dream come true or never reached a goal you’ve set, you aren’t alone. In fact, around 92% of people never do reach their goal or see that dream become reality.

Making a healthy lifestyle change is one of those goals that I hear many people talking about. Dreaming of losing weight and getting rid of the illnesses that are associated with poor lifestyle choices is often the topic of conversation when I talk with my clients – and with my friends.

Considering the number of people who don’t reach their goals, how is it possible to become one of the 8% that do? We considered this when developing our online courses (Not What the Dr Ordered and our 8 Week Healthy You Challenge) and decided that if people were going to be helped we needed to do all we possibly could to facilitate that. And that included helping them understand the importance of having a positive, ‘can do’ mindset, a success – oriented mindset that guides thoughts and actions.

Change is challenging because often we have formed out lives around unhealthy habits and behaviors that are ingrained in everything we do. So it takes a lot of rethinking and planning to change habits that are interconnected with our lifestyle.

Changing or adjusting your thinking is the first essential step – when things don’t work out for us repeatedly, we may begin to wonder what needs to change. Generally, and this is probably because our society constantly encourages more learning and acquisition of more skills, we try seminars and workshops, we read books, and we might even go back to school, hooping that whatever it is we are doing will be the answer for us. There’s nothing wrong with information and education, but if it’s a mindset change that’s needed, all that won’t make a difference until after we’ve worked on the mindset!

Counter mindsets are mindsets that aren’t producing the results you want, you need to identify these – mindsets are formed through prior experiences and emotional milestones. Some of these are limiting beliefs, self-doubt, and any other negative thoughts that that are barriers to you reaching your goals and dreams.

Anywhere from 35,000 – 1000, 000 thoughts go through our minds every day. Sadly, for the majority of people, most of them are negative. These ‘Automatic Negative Thoughts’ (ANTs) or ‘Deceptive Brain Messages’ (DBMs), occur so often that you are probably not even aware of them – most of us aren’t.

For example: You know that little voice that points out that the gift you bought for your friend just isn’t good enough? Or makes disparaging comments when you look in the mirror? We all know that voice. All of us have different ANTs/ DBMs, and, without knowing it, we’re habitually allowing them to destroy our dreams. It’s hard to remain positive when that little voice is constantly nagging you and saying things like, “I can’t talk to him,” “I’m not smart enough/good enough,” “I’m fat,” “I’m not qualified,” “I’m hopeless”…. I’m sure you know what I’m talking about.

The way to start getting rid of the ANTs/DBMs in your head is to begin paying attention to them – not ignore them. Notice when you hear that critical voice, and recognize how frequently it happens. More than likely, you’ll find that your limiting thoughts can be narrowed down to a few key themes. Taking note of this is a major step because we can’t change what we haven’t acknowledged.

In NWTDO and our 8 Week Healthy You Challenge, we work with you to identify the negative mindsets, the limiting beliefs, and these programmes are designed to provide you with everything you need to stop them holding you back.

Our approach is one based on the belief that the brain is plastic. That means it is possible to change our brain, to ‘unwire’ unhelpful patterns of thought and behavior and wire in helpful ones. Each week you will build on what you learned the week before, and as you direct your attention towards these new, positive behaviours, and develop new healthy habits, your brain will change and so will your thinking. We work with you to help you change your mindset to one that says, “Yes, I can.”

A scientifically demonstrated effective way of helping to change mindsets is mindfulness. As a mindfulness teacher and someone who practices mindfulness daily, I am convinced that the research evidence is indeed valid! Mindfulness is known to have tremendously useful effects on our physical and psychological wellbeing and is an integral part of our programme.

If you are wondering whether one of our programmes is right for you, if some of those limiting thoughts might be telling you “not to bother” or “I’d never be able to do it” label them for what they are: ANTs/DBMs, and decide right now to start with a “Yes, I can” attitude! Call now to find out more about how one of our courses can change your life.